There’s no shortage of blame to go around when it comes to climate change. Individuals are responsible for poor consumer choices; we drive the wrong cars, use the wrong light bulbs, even wash our laundry on the wrong setting. Even the poor dairy cow shares the blame for having the nerve to burp methane emissions. But Bessie isn’t the only creature catching a bad rap. Sperm whales have been criticized for breathing. Yes, breathing. Apparently the carbon dioxide emitted from the roughly 210,000 sperm whales in the Southern Ocean is contributing to global warming, producing in the ballpark of 17 million tons of carbon a year. But new research suggests that we’re missing a very big factor in the calculation. It’s not just what the whales put out, but also what they take in.
The inaugural Aaron Peirsol’s Race for the Oceans was a splashing success this weekend. Hundreds of swimmers, from age 9 to 59, gathered in Ft. Myers, Florida for their chance to race against the seven-time Olympic medalist and support ocean conservation.
Oceana attended another successful regatta this weekend. We’ve been reaching out to the sailing community, encouraging them to limit their plastic consumption and donate.
Oceana has compiled a list of suggestions for green – dare we say blue? – lifestyle choices that can help preserve the oceans for future generations.
World Ocean Day is June 8 and June 2008 is National Oceans Month, as recently declared by the President. Help celebrate the oceans by following these easy steps to S-A-V-E O-C-E-A-N-S.
Last weekend, some lucky folks from Oceana attended the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta. That’s “N-O-O-D,” get your mind out of the gutter people! Started in 1988, these National Offshore One-Design regattas take place over nine weekends throughout the United States.
Every year, fishermen globally pull tens of millions of sharks on deck and crudely slice off their fins. The fishermen then throw the sharks overboard, now finless, and they sink to the ocean floor where they drown or bleed to death. Shark finning is as brutal as it is wasteful – which prompted the U.S. government to enact the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000, making the practice illegal. Or, at least, that was the intention.
Take Action: Watch our Shark Finning Video and Tell Your Representative to Pass a TRUE Shark Finning Ban
Mark your calendars for NYC's inaugural Go Green Expo. In case you haven’t heard, the Go Green Expo is launching New York City's largest environmentally-focused consumer expo to date. This special event will educate, entertain and enlighten attendees on the variety of eco-friendly alternatives available today. If you're in the Big Apple, come by and check it out.
Sharkwater is the anti-Jaws.
Doc filmmaker Rob Stewart debunks shark myths in this visually stunning underwater experience and wins 26 international awards in the process. Buy it. Watch it. Save sharks.
The 1988 groundbreaking book - 50 SimpleThings YOU Can do to Save the Earth - is back and better than ever. In this brand new edition—completely revised and updated—the authors have collaborated with Oceana (...and 49 other top environmental advocacy groups!) to explore the most important environmental issues facing us today.
Read up at 50simplethings.com
The Oceana chapter, "Hook, Line and Sinker" >>
Check out this issue of the Washingtonian, featuring our Overfishing Campaign Director, Courtney Sakai as one of the "30 People Changing the Environment in Washington." Congrats!
